Choose the demo or main-game listing
There are two official Steam entries relevant to this download question. The main game is the release and purchase-information page, while the demo is the separate free installation option for trying the game. Decide which task you are attempting before following a download instruction, because opening one page does not make its availability or installation state identical to the other.
The Steam listing guide identifies the main game and demo by their official app IDs. That gives you a way to distinguish the correct entries even when a search result shortens their names or shows release information next to a demo discussion. The important first check is the product you have opened, not whether a third-party result uses a large download button or repeats the game's name.
Open the official demo page
For the free trial, start with the official demo link in this page's opening answer. The collected October announcement confirms that the revised demo is available, and the official store entry provides the installation route through Steam. This is the verified download destination in the supplied research, rather than an authorized standalone installer that the research did not establish.
Check that the listing identifies County of Fortune Demo before proceeding with installation. The main game and the trial are related, but their separate pages serve different purposes when you are trying to start playing before the planned Early Access release. If you reach the main-game entry first, use the clearly identified demo information rather than interpreting a release countdown as a direct instruction for installing the trial.
Install through Steam
Use the installation entry point provided on the demo's official Steam page and continue through Steam's installation flow. Keep the product name visible during that process so that the entry being installed remains the free demo you intended to try. These are navigation steps for the official route, not a claim that this page provides a downloadable installer or a replacement for the Steam client.
Once installation is available through that official flow, use the game's own tutorial for the opening county. The beginner guide explains the first production roles and the panels used to understand settlement needs. Separating installation from gameplay helps you identify whether the next obstacle is finding the correct product entry or learning a supply system inside a game you have already installed.
Check the supported system before installing
The official store lists Windows and SteamOS plus Linux for the main game. A native macOS build is not listed in the researched platform information, and console availability should not be inferred from a Steam download link. Check the actual supported-platform and requirements information rather than assuming that a computer's ability to open the store page establishes compatibility with the game itself.
Use the system requirements guide for the verified minimum and recommended hardware details. It also explains the distinction between the game's older Windows wording and the Steam client's Windows support note, rather than turning the older wording into an installation recommendation. That platform check belongs before conclusions about performance, because the supplied research does not establish benchmark results for every system that meets a listed requirement.
Keep free-demo access separate from paid-game access
The free download established by the collected material is the demo. The existence of that trial is not evidence that the main game is free, and the separate main-game entry should not be described as an already available paid build before its planned launch in the November 4 research context. Use the store's actual product information for purchase availability instead of assuming that the demo's installation state applies to everything with the same name.
The Early Access guide answers the release question if that is what brought you to the download search. It distinguishes the planned November 5 launch from the larger development process described by the developers. This keeps download instructions useful without inventing a price, a regional unlock hour or an official distribution channel that the supplied material does not identify.
Identify which demo your save belongs to
If you have played before, installation and save compatibility are separate questions. The updated October demo can carry progress into Early Access according to the developers, while June Next Fest saves are incompatible with the newer demo. Establish which build created the county you want to continue before treating an older save issue as evidence that you downloaded the wrong official product.
The demo guide explains that distinction without inventing a save folder or an automatic transfer procedure. A compatibility statement tells you which versions are intended to share progress, but it does not establish every file-management step that a particular installation may require. Follow the current official instructions when dealing with your actual save rather than guessing at a migration process from an unrelated guide.
Read historical download notices by date
The revised demo was announced in October, while the earlier Next Fest demo belonged to a different testing period. A historical expiry attached to the June build should not be reused as the deadline for the later demo, whose October FAQ gives no confirmed end date. Check the notice's date and version before treating a search result about an expired demo as the current answer to whether the trial can be installed.
At the same time, no confirmed end date is different from a guarantee of permanent availability. The useful action is to check the official demo listing and the developer's current announcements when you are ready to install. That approach avoids both outdated expiry claims and an unsupported promise that the free trial will always remain downloadable regardless of future changes to the store.
Use the official entry point for the next step
A concise installation route is to choose the free demo, open its official Steam entry, confirm the product and platform, and use the installation flow supplied there. Once the game is installed, move to the tutorial and the gameplay guide that addresses your first actual question. This sequence keeps the download task specific without adding unrelated software, unverified mirrors or a standalone package that the collected sources never identified as an official option.
If you were looking for the main game instead, return to its separate official listing and read the release information in the correct date context. Use the Steam page comparison when the two entries are easy to confuse, and the review research if you are deciding whether the demo's regional-building concept interests you. The verified trial is a useful starting point, while later purchase and launch decisions belong to the main game's own store information.
Official sources
Information checked November 4, 2026. Send a correction.